


Terrible decisions

by Prisca



Category: The Faculty (1998)
Genre: Bingo, Comment Fic, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-27
Updated: 2017-01-27
Packaged: 2018-09-20 07:56:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,695
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9481853
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Prisca/pseuds/Prisca
Summary: After the alien incident Casey's life has changed a lot but he starts to put it into question





	

**Author's Note:**

> Comment fic prompt: Any, Any, Death of a (canon) pet.  
> Bingo prompt: terrible

Annoyed Deliah stared at her boyfriend.  
„Casey, stop ruining this weekend, will you,“ she hissed.

The boy cringed visibly at her harsh voice.  
„I don't get it how you can think about a party,“ he murmured.  
„We should go and look after Zeke. He wasn't at school for the last three days.“

Delilah rolled her eyes like she did so often lately. The time where she had been all smiles and happiness around him obviously was over. Deep inside Casey knew that this shouldn't surprise him so much. Del had always been like that and even the alien incident half a year ago hadn't changed her. 

Yes, she talked about love and a future together often lately but actually, he had always known it that she didn't mean him. She had always been together with the most popular boys at school. The President of Student's Council, later the quarterback from the team. For Casey she had never had an eye, he was a photo geek and a loser.

Until he had saved the world. He couldn't even say how this had happened. Like all the others he had just wanted to survive. And when no one had been left anymore but him he had done what needed to be done. He would never have called himself a hero. 

But a lot of others did. Like Delilah. She kissed him right in front of a camera and next day they were on the cover of the 'Times' and gave interviews for the 'Newsweek'. The hero and the pretty cheerleader. The boy who did fight an alien queen to save the girl he loved. 

He hadn't had the power to fight for longer and had just given in.

…

„We should go and look after Zeke. He wasn't at school for the last three days.“

„For sure we won't change our plans because of him.“  
She snorted scornfully.  
„He is such a loser. Instead of making the most out of all the attention he gets he crawls off and hides in his garage all day long, lamenting the loss of a stupid lab rat.“

„Oscar was not a lab rat,“ Casey protested.  
„Not for Zeke. He was like a good friend.“

Deliah rolled her eyes.  
„God, Casey! Face it, a rat is not a pet. That's so pathetic.“

Usually, Casey would give in now, he hated discussions like this, which, he knew this all too well, would go nowhere. But he couldn't get Zeke's eyes out of his head. The way he hold the little, white rat in his hands when he infected it with the alien spawn. His hands were trembling when he watched Oscar dying. They all had felt shocked and terrified, but the flickering in Zeke's eyes told about something else: a deep sadness and for a moment Casey had been sure that Zeke would just give up. Let the aliens win, let them take over the world.

But the moment passed by and thanks to Oscar's death they had been able to find a way to kill the alien queen and to save the world. Casey was not willing to forget this.

„You should be a bit more thankful,“ he answered, his voice tensed.  
„This stupid rat, like you call him, actually saved your life.“

„You are still a geek, Casey,“ Delilah sighed.  
„Don't waste your time with ideas like this! The party today is very important. I've heard that even the media will be there. So, I would suggest that you finally get dressed and put on a more pleasant face. I won't let it happen that you ruin this evening after all the effort I've put into to get an invitation.“

Casey blinked wildly and he knew what he had to do. It was so easy, wasn't it? Suddenly he couldn't understand anymore why he hadn't done this ages ago. Delilah was right: he had wasted his time … with her.  
„Sorry, Del,“ he said.  
„But I won't go to the party tonight.“

She stared at him.  
„What do you mean?“

„I don't go to the party,“ he repeated so calmly he had never felt before in her presence.  
„I don't go to any party anymore. Because I hate this shit. I'm not a party guy, never was. And I won't give interviews anymore, no photo shoots, or anything. 

It's over, Del, face it. All I want is a normal life. I want to graduate and go to art school later. I don't need Harvard to be a nature photographer one day. Probably it won't make me rich but happy.“

„You … you can't be serious.“  
Never before he had seen her so churned up; pale, her eyes wide open.  
„After all … after all I did for you? Don't you dare it, Casey, don't you dare it to treat me like that.“

„What did you do for me, Delilah,“ he asked.  
„All you did, you only did for yourself. You always were like that. You use everyone to get what you want most. Fame. To stand in the center of every interest. You discovered your love for me when the media decided to call me a hero. 

But that's not me, Del. I'm just the photo geek … and I don't want to play the role of a hero any longer.“

He even managed it to smile.  
„Maybe one day you can forgive me. Maybe one day you will understand that fame and richness are not all. I hope so ... for you."

„You are such an idiot,“ she spat before she rushed out of the room, banging the door shut behind her.

...

Hesitating Casey stopped in front of the big house in the Sunrise Aveneau. Zeke's GTO was standing in the driveway, so he had to be at home. He clutched the small box tightly with both hands, suddenly not sure anymore if it had been a good idea.

„Hey, Casey.“

He turned around, and there he was. Zeke was standing in front of his garage, the garage where everything had started, the garage, Delilah had crashed under the influence of an alien which had taken over her body. Obviously, Zeke had started to fix it again: the windows were glazed again, the door was repaired and freshly painted. Next to the garage, a half filled container with the debris of Zeke's lab, old shelves, a broken guitar … 

Zeke stepped closer, worn out jeans and an old shirt, a hammer in his hand. He eyed Casey with slightly narrowed eyes.  
„What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be on the way to the big party?“

Casey shrugged.  
„Not going,“ he said.  
„It's over.“

„The party?“

„No. Delilah and me.“

„Oh.“  
Zeke put the hammer down and scratched his head.  
„Get it. After all, this bitch decided that you are not good enough? Why didn't this surprise me?“

Casey smirked.  
„Well, actually it was more the other way around. I did break up with her.“

„Hm. That's a reason to celebrate, I guess. Want a beer?"

„Oh, stop that, Zeke.“  
Casey sighed.  
„After this incident at school, I thought it might be a good idea to look forward. To change my life. Del was … well, she was ...“

„She did what she always did,“ Zeke finished the sentence.  
„She used you.“

„I know. But it's not that what bothered me most. It's the way she treats others. The way she talked about you this afternoon.“

„Get it.“  
Zeke pulled the face.  
„No need to worry about that, though. I give a shit.“

„But I care!“  
Casey's eyes sparkled surprisingly angry.  
„She has no right to talk like that. I know what you've done. You killed Oscar because it was the only way to save all of us. You sacrificed a friend, Zeke. I don't know if I would have been strong enough to make such a terrible decision.“

Zeke's eyes turned dark in an instant.  
„Nothing big. It was just a rat.“

His tense voice told something different. But he wasn't willing to talk about it. Zeke had built a thick shell around him already before the alien incident when he still had been the king at school. After the event he had withdrawn even more; he had hated all the media interest and for all the hero stories around Casey he had shown felt nothing but deepest contempt. It had been a pretty stupid idea to think that he would want to open up, accept his comfort. 

„I guess it's time to go home,“ Casey murmured, looking over to the garage.  
„Seems as if you have still a lot to do.“

But when he put the small box back into the basket on his rack, Zeke stepped closer to block his way.  
„Case, what's all this about?“  
With slightly narrowed eyes he stared at the box.

„It's … nothing.“

„Doesn't look like nothing.“  
Zeke grabbed for it before Casey could stop him.  
„Pet Smart Easton, huh?“

Carefully he opened the lid. Casey nervously took a deep breath when the small agouti-colored, variegated hooded rat with black eyes curiously looked up at them. A smile sneaked on Zeke's face while he stretched out his finger to stroke her. 

„You got a rat,“ he asked.  
"Hey, pretty guy."

„It's not for me. My mom doesn't like pets in the house.“  
Casey bit his lower lip.  
„But when I crossed the pet shop there was this cage with all the rats in the window and … I thought about you and Oscar and …“  
He sighed, feeling helpless.  
„I'm sorry. I guess it was a stupid idea.“ 

Zeke finally had taken the rat in his hand, it wasn't shy in the slightest, started to crawl up his arm, sniffled at his neck, tried to get under his shirt. Zeke laughed slightly and grabbed for it.

„It's a female rat,“ he said after a short examination.  
„ I guess I will call her Carina. That means: the Beauty.“

„Really?“  
Casey blinked wildly.  
„So, you are not angry? You will keep her?“

„It was not a stupid idea, Casey.“  
Zeke's voice was surprisingly calm, his smile warm and open.  
„It's long ago that someone has done something that nice for me.

Thank you.“

THE END


End file.
